Posted on September 15, 2025
East Hampton’s windfall from the South Fork Wind Farm is being used by the town to commence a much-needed federal dredging of the inlet to Lake Montauk, the biggest commercial fishing port in New York State.
According to East Hampton Town, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ bids to perform the long-planned Lake Montauk Harbor Navigation Improvement Project this fall came in $1.1 million higher than expected, and the agency informed the town it would need $1.1 million by Sept. 10 in order to go forward with the dredging, which can only be done between Oct. 15 and Jan. 15.
East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and Council member David Lys at the Montauk Inlet |. Patrick Derenze photo for East Hampton Town
East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez announced Monday that the town has allocated $1.1 million from its Host Community Agreement, which in 2022 allowed South Fork Wind to place its transmission cables from its offshore wind farm under town roads in exchange for $28.9 million over the following 25 years.
The money, she said in a statement, would “fill a federal funding gap and ensure the dredging of Montauk Inlet moves forward, after Washington fell short on delivering the full commitment.”
“Montauk’s fishing families depend on this inlet,” said Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez. “Their livelihoods should not be jeopardized by broken promises. When Congressman LaLota confirmed we were still $1.1 million short just days before the deadline, the entire project risked being canceled. The East Hampton Town Board refused to let that happen.”
Mr. LaLota countered that account in a statement Wednesday.
“The $10 million federal commitment to Lake Montauk Inlet has never wavered. The $1.1 million gap was not the result of any broken promises from Washington, but simply the reality of receiving only one high bid — something federal law does not allow us to cover mid-contract,” he said. “When that shortfall became clear, I immediately worked with the Army Corps and the town to keep the project moving forward.”
Long Island Commercial Fishing Association Executive Director Bonnie Brady, along with many Montauk fishermen, has been skeptical of the wind farm and its potential to impact fishing grounds from the start.
While she said she is “very happy the town is helping with the dredge, they sure didn’t help when it came to compensation for South Fork Wind, for which New York fishermen got zero for their losses in the wind farm lease area and the full extent of the 56 mile cable from the lease area into Wainscott. Many fishermen have been affected since the cable was turned on, plus the underwater bulldozing and then pile driving of Cox’s Ledge was devastating to the cod and other fisheries there. So while the money for the dredge is greatly appreciated, seeing the Town’s press release giving kudos to a wind farm that has drastically hurt our town’s fishermen was honestly very disappointing.”
Ms. Brady said the lack of funding was no one’s fault, “least of all Congressman LaLota’s,” adding that the Congressman’s office was “in touch with the ACOE trying to access those funds when the town approved the appropriation for the dredge.”
Rep. LaLota had affirmed the federal government’s commitment to dredging the inlet to a depth of 17 feet this fall in a Feb. 18, 2025 press conference at Inlet Seafood, adjacent to the inlet, where he also touted an emergency dredging underway to remove dangerous shoals at the mouth of the inlet.
On the week of Feb. 15, 2025, Army Corps dredge Murden made a trip from Cape May, New Jersey to remove the shoals and dredge the inlet to a depth of 12 feet, “to restore regular navigation until the planned 17-foot dredge later this year,” he said at the time.
Rep. LaLota with state, county and local government officials at the Feb. 18 press conference. |. photo courtesy Congressman Nick LaLota’s office
According to the town, the federal government had committed $9.5 million to the project, and the town had already invested $1.5 million under its 2022 Project Partnership Agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers.
Mr. LaLota said Ms. Burke-Gonzalez’s “failure to secure easements … delayed this project and put fishermen at risk. I commend Councilman Lys and the Town Board for stepping up to close the gap, because contributing $2.6 million in town funds to unlock $10 million in federal funding I secured is a very good deal for East Hampton taxpayers and ensures Montauk’s fishing families are protected.”
The long-planned ACOE Lake Montauk Harbor Navigation Improvement Project will deepen the channel to 17 feet, placing “110,000 cubic yards of sandy dredged material between the upland and nearshore areas of the downdrift eroded beach,” according to the Army Corps fact sheet on the project.
The project was deemed a priority by the agency due to the economic impact to Montauk’s fishing fleet, and the fact that the harbor “is the only deep-draft port between New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Cape May, New Jersey. It serves as a critical port of refuge for commercial and recreational vessels and supports Coast Guard operations that protect the entire region,” according to the town’s press release.
In the final Host Community Agreement with the South Fork Wind Farm, the town had agreed to place $5.5 million in a special “Wainscott Fund” to benefit the community of Wainscott, where the majority of the 4.1-mile transmission cable was buried.
Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said the town has already received more than $1 million in Host Community Agreement funds to date, separate from the Wainscott Fund.
“This was our one shot,” said Ms. Burke-Gonzalez. “If we had missed this, I had no confidence the project would ever get done.”
“Here in East Hampton offshore wind is not only powering 70,000 homes with clean energy, it is also keeping boats in the water, protecting the livelihoods of our fishing families, and ensuring that Montauk Harbor remains a safe haven for mariners across the region,” she added.
